Machine for tying packages



H. J. SCHMIDT.

MACHINE FOR TYING PACKAGES.

APPLICATION men AUG. 1. 1920.

1,392,972. Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET l.

H; J. SCHMIDT.

MACHINE FOR TYING PACKAGES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7, 1920.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921 4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' INVENTOR v ;@M A; ATTORNEYS H. l. SCHMIDT. MAC'HINE FOR TYING PACKAGES. APPL'ICATION FILED AUG-7, 1920.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921..

4 SHEETS-QJiEET 3.

awN

E1 MW B M Gm ATTORNEYJ J. SCHMIDT.

MACHINE FOR'TYING PACKAGES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1920.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

om STATES are Fries.

HENRIK J. SCHMIDT, OF BROOKLYN, NEJV YORK, ASSIGNOR TOC. FREDERICK RAICH- LEN, OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY.

IVIACHINE FOR TYING PACKAGES.

mea re.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

Application filed August 7, 1920. Serial No. 401,986.

' is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for tylng packages and to an lmproved method,

and although various features thereof are applicable to other uses, yet the machine and method are particularly adapted for tying ribbons or cords in a bow-knot around packages, such as packages of envelops, or around candy boxes, toilet articles and the like.

The main and particular objects of the invention are to produce a method and a machine whereby a minimum amount of operation is required, a high degree of accuracy in operation is attained, a high degree of speed, and aminimum amount of manipulation is required by the attendant of the machine. The only duty required of the operator in the preferred embodiment of my invention is to insert and remove the packages, the machine completing the wrapping and tying of the ribbon, or cord,in a bow-knot. Another object is to devise a machine which will accomplish the above purpose and adapt the same to be driven from a source of power, such as an electric motor or other source. Another object is to so inter-relate the parts and their sequence of movement that the number of parts and their functions will be reduced to a minimum of simplicity and attain a high degree of durability and thus insure long continued operation without the necessity of material interruptions or stoppage of the machine for repairs or adjustments. Another object is to provide a machine in which the packages, or object to be wrapped, can be quickly and conveniently fed to and removed from the machine.

These and various other objects and advantages of the machineand method will be understood from the following description and accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, although various, modifications thereof may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a pre-', ferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the'line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lower portion of the machine with certain partsbroken away. I

Fig. 4 is a development of three cams of the lower portion of the machine showing their relative positions;

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing certain parts in their relative positions after the first knot has been formed; Fig. 6 is a plan View of the upper portion of the machine; I

Fig. 7 is a development of four cams on the shaft of the upper portion of the machine showing the relationship of the cams; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of, certain parts of the ribbon or cord drawing mechanism; Fig. 9 is a side elevation with parts in section of a portion ofthe, ribbon or cord cutting mechanism; a r

Fig. 10 is. a plan view of certain parts showing their relationship in the process of forming the bow, and i Fig. 11 is a similar view of the partsafter the bow has been formed, but before the arts have been drawn from the bow.

i In a general way the machine illustrated herewith comprises a main base portion which receives the packages and which functions to draw the ribbon under the package and out the same to a proper length. It also functions to wrap the ribbon'around the package and to form the first knot and to place the long ends of the ribbon in position to be received and manipulated by the upper portion of the machine which forms and ties the bow. Theupper portion of the machine is here shown as having the general form of a bridge which is kept elevated until the lower portion of the machine has completed wrapping and tying'of the first knot and is then lowered and functions to tiethe how, after which it is raised until the lower portion of the machine has wrappedand tied the next package, at which time the upper portion of the machine again comes into tobe automatically connected up and driven the left-hand end of the plate 1 is an upwardly extending pedestal or bearing 2 for a shaft carrying a pulley 3 driven by a belt 4:, which is the source of power for operating the mechanism, although any other suitable source or driving means may be used. The driving shaft carries a large gear 5 which extends downwardly through an opening in the plate 1? and drives a second gear 6. The latter gear is mounted upon shaft 7 which is journaled in pedestals 8 extending downwardly from the underside of plate 1. The shaft 7 has fixed thereto the three cylindrical cams 9, 9, 9', the develop ment of which and relative position on the shaft 7 being shown in Fig. 4:. The gear 6 engages another gear 10 ofthe same size and number of teeth as gear 6, the gear 10 being fixed toa shaft 11, which latter is journaled in the ends of the base 1. The shaft 11 carries plate cams 12, one at each end ofthe shaft, for'raising and lowering the upper portion of the machine, as will be later described. The shaft 11 also carries a plate cam 13 which actuates the cutting mechanism.

The spool 14 of ribbon 15 is mounted on any suitable support. The ribbon passes through a slot 16 at the right-hand front corner ofthe base and extends along the length of the base through a slot 16. The

means for drawing the ribbon through the machine and under the package is operated by the earn 9". A lever 17 is pivotally mounted at 17 on a fixed support extending down from the underside of the plate 1 The front end of lever 17 carries a pin 17, which engages the groove 17 of the cam 9. The rear end of the lever 17 extends upwardly and has a slotted connection with the rear end of a lever 18 pivoted at 18 on the underside of the plate 1. The lever 18 extends forwardly and has a downward bent end and has coupled thereto a slidable extending portion 18 The part 18 is secured to the underside of the front portion of the lever 18. The part 18 carries a pin 18 on its underside from which a spring 18 extends to a pin 18 which latter is secured to the underside'of the lever 18. The pin 18 passes through a slot 18 in the extension 18 to permit free inward and outward movement of the extension 18 The outer end of the lever 18 and the inner end of lever 18 carryclips 18 fixed thereto which slidably engage the edge of the other lever respectively for guiding purposes and for keeping the parts in alinement. The spring 18 .thus tends to constantly draw the extension 18 backwardly and tends always to shorten the length of the coupled parts.

The outer end of the lever portion 18 carries a roller 18 on its under side, which engages the front edge of a guide plate 20 fixed in a horizontal position and below the base plate 1 by supporting studs 20. The front edge of this guide plate 20 has a con tour as shown by dotted and full lines in Fig. 3 so that when the lever 18 is swung from left to right, or thereverse, the outer end of the part 18 will follow the contour of thefront edge of plate 20, because the spring 18 always holds the roller 18 in contact with the edge of the plate 20 and'permits inward and outward movem nt of the.

outer'end of lever 18 aS required by the shape of the plate 20.

On the upperside of the front end of the lever extension 18 is fixed a post 21 having a backwardly extending lip'21 which ex- The, post 21 is H part of plate 1. A projection 21 is located at each end of the stroke of the lever 18 so that in each of these positions the ribbon 15 is not held by the ribbon drawing meche anism. r

It will be seen that when the cam 9 is turned by the shaft 7, it will cause the lever 17 to be turned about its pivot 17? and cause the lever 18 and 18 to be turned about their pivot ,18; and the shape ofthe cam 9 as shown in Fig. i will cause, when starting from the upper part of the cam 9 shown in Fig. 1 the lever 18 and 18 to be thrown from a ri ht-hand position to the position shown in *ig. 3. hen in the right-hand position, the plate or finger 21 is raised and the end of the ribbon 15 is then located in the ribbon drawer as shown in Fig. 8. Vhen the .At this point the front end of the finger 21* lever 18 moves from the right-hand position,

is engaged by the other projection 21 and I the ribbon is then released. It will be seen that by the shape of the cam 9 the lever 18 remains'in' its left-hand position, as shown, for a considerable part of the revolution of shaft 7, after which it is caused to take a reverse movement to the right and again grip the end of ribbon 15. It then immediately swings to the left where it again releases the ribbon and remains at the left during a fixed period and then it'is again swung to the right, and so on. It should be noted that the base plate i is thinned on its underside in a lengthwise direction along the path of the ribbon holding post to allow unobstructed movement ofthe same, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 8. i

The mechanism for cutting the ribbon will now be described. The cam 13 which is fixed on shaft 11 is embraced on each side by a fork 13 carried by each of two side pieces 13 connected together and forming a supporting bracket fixed to the frame 1 at 13, as shown in Fig. 2. Between the side pieces 13 is pivotally mounted a lever 13 at the pivot 13 and carries a roller 13 at its rear end which engages the periphery of cam 13, the shape of which is shown in Fig. 9. The front end of lever 13 carries a roller 18?, which engages the upper edge of a lever 13, which has its front end pivoted at 13 between the side pieces 13 and its rear end is slotted to engage a pin 13? carried by the cutting plunger 13. A spring 13 is secured at its lower end to the pivoted arm 18 and at its upper end to the underside of the base plate 1 and thus tends to draw the arm 13 and plunger 13 upwardly against the.

cam controlled lever 13. The cutting plunger 13 has a diagonally formed upper cutting edge for cutting. the ribbon. The cutting plunger is guided at its lower end by a part 13 which is part of and connects the side pieces 13*. The upper part of the cutting plunger is guided by a part 13 secured to the base plate 1. Above the cutting plunger is located a plate 13 secured to the top of the base plate 1 and against which the cutting plunger is forced when cutting the ribbon 15.

It is evident thatrevolution of the cam 13 will cause the cutting plunger to be forced upwardly and to cut the ribbon once for each revolution of the cam, the periphery of the cam having the cut away portion as shown in Fig. 9 into which the roller 13 is about to drop, which permits the spring 13 to throw the cutting plunger upwardly to cut the ribbon. The roller 13 is then forced upwardly by the cam and the cutting plunger brought to its lower position. where it remains during the remaining portion of the revolution of the shaft 11. The cam13 is so positioned on the shaft 11 that it causes the cutting plunger to rise and cut the ribbon immediately after the ribbon drawing 'mechanism has reached the lefthand position shown in Fig. 3. It does not again come into action until after the ribbon drawing arm has been moved to. the right and again clamped and drawn the new end of the ribbon to the left-hand position, at which time the plunger cuts off the new length of ribbon.

I will now describe the mechanism and method for tying the first knot about, the package. The frame 1 is cut away in the front central portion as shown at 1 suiticiently to allow the'attendant to place the package to be wrapped in the position on the base plate 1. A package of envelops A is here illustrated as an example, and the package is placed endwise against a back plate 1 upwardly extending from the surface of the base plate 1 A plate 1 is adapted to rest over or on top of the package A-when the package of envelops is inserted thereunder. It will be seen from Figs. 1, 2, and 3 that the package A when inserted in position to bewrapped, is positioned over the slot through which the ribbon 15 passes. The package A, when in-. serted, is also under two pivoted arms 22, 28,

each of the outer ends of which are crossed over the other arm respectively. The arm 22 is pivoted at 22- in a sliclably movable pedestal 22. From this pedestal the arm 22 extends'backwardly and upwardly over the package A and then downwardly at the right-hand end into a .slot in the base plate 1. The lower end extends a short distance in a horizontal direction in the slot andhas a forwardly extending end or finger 22 at v right angles thereto. The part 22 when in this position extends under the ribbon 15 as shown in Fig. 3. .Pivotally mounted on this right-hand end of arm 22 is a plate or finger 22 having a similar right angle form to that of the end of the arm, but the forwardly extending part or finger of plate 22 is longer than the part 22. A leaf-spring 22 is secured to the arm 22 near its righthand end and presses against the plate or finger 22 tending to hold it in engagement with the extension of the arm 22; but when in the position shown in the drawings where the right-hand end of the arm 22 has been dropped into the slot in the base, the extended end ofthe finger 22 engages the surface of the base plate 1 and opens it from the finger 22 against the pressure of the As stated before, the left-hand end of,

arm .22 is pivoted in the pedestal 22 and passes through this pedestal and has fixed to or formed at the front of its left-hand.

end, a dog 22, which is at an angle to-the arm 22 and extends downwardly against the surface of the base plate 1, thus in effect I forming a bell crank lever. It is thus evi-.

dent that when the dog 22 is turned in a counter-clockwise direction, the right-hand end of the arm 22 will be raised. it will be noted that the pedestal 22 is located on the base plate in front of the slotcontaining the ribbon.

The arm 23 is similarly mounted and has parts corresponding to those already described .and which are lettered respectively, 23 to 23 but the pedestal 23 which pivotally supports the arm 23 is located at the other. side of the ribbon'slo't and beyond the arm 22. The arm 23 extends from the pedestal forwardly under arm 22 and upwardly over the package A and downwardly over the left-hand portion of arm 22 and has the fingers 23 and 23 extending rearwardly and located below and above the ribbon respectively.

The pedestal 23 is slidably mounted on the base plate and has a part 23 extending down through the base and carrying a collar 23 which holds the pedestal to the base.

The part 23 is slidable in the inclined slot 23 in the base. The pedestal 22 has corresponding parts and is slidable along the line of the inclined slot 22 inthe base.

,Vhen" pedestal 22 is slid from the position" shown in Fig. 3 to the left, the dog or pawl 22 engages a raised strip 22 which extends along the surface of the base plateparallel with the slot 221 This turns the arm 22 about its pivot in a counter-clockwise ,di-

rection and raises the free end of the arm a considerable distance upwardly so that when the pedestal 22 is moved to'the left, the dis-J tant end of arm 22 will pass quite a little above the package A. Similarly the dog 23 of the arm 23 engages a raised strip 23 which extends along the top of the base plate parallel with the slot 23; and when the pedestal 23 is moved to the right from the position shown in Fig. 3, the distant end of the arm 23 is swung upwardly so that in the movement of the the distant end of the arm 23 will pass over the'package A some distance above it. One of the raised strips, 22 has a little greater height than the other strip, 23 for the'purpose of causing the end of the arm 22 which carries the ribbon to be raised a little above the corresponding end of the arm 23 for passing by each other.

Also the inclination of the slots'22 23 ,'causes the arms to pass eachrother'in forming the first knot and to give the ends of the ribbon certain positions. This particularaction will be better understood from the description of operation to be laterexplained. It maybe here stated, however, that when the pedestal 23 has reached the right-hand end of slot 23, referring to Fig. 3,,and when the pedestal 22 has reached the left-hand end of slot 22 the ribbon-has been wrapped around the package A and the first knot has been movement;

pedestal 23 to the right,

formed, and the ends of the ribbon are held by the ends of the arms 22 and 23, as indicated in Fig. 5. From the knot the ribbon extends diagonally upward on each side and scmewhat'inclined, as shown in Fig. 5, to the holding ends of the arms 22, 23, the free ends of the ribbon hanging downwardly at the holding ends of these arms.

I therewith. The lever 24: is pivoted at 24: to

a stud fixed on the underside of the base plate, and its rear end has a pin and slot pivotal. connection 24? with the rearend of another lever 24. The latter lever'isipivoted at 2 1 on a support fixed to the underside of the base plate and its front end has a pin or roller 24", which engages the groove 2i of the cam 9 The rear end of lever 24: is bent to extend upwardly so as to make the pivotal connection with the rear end of lever 2a A lever 25 is similarly connected to pedestal 22 and provided with corresponding parts as already described and correspondingly lettered 25 to 25 Supporting and guiding strips 19 and 19 the underside of. the base plate 1 to serve as guides and supports for the levers in their In the positionfishown in Fig. 3, the ribbon drawing mechanism has caused the ribbon to be passed between the open fingers of the arms 22 and 23; and the cam shaft 7 has turned to the position so that the pins 24 and 25 are about-to engage the first inclined portion of the cams 9 and 9'. Further movement of the cams will evidently cause the front ends of arms 24: and 25 to be forced outwardly and the rear ends toward each other; this consequently causes the rear ends of levers 24 and 25 to be thrown toward each other about their pivots and causes the front ends of these levers to be separated and their pedestals to move to the outer ends of the slots 22 and 23 bringing these arms and ribbon tfothe position shown in Fig. 5 as already described.

The ribbon is next acted upon by the upper mechanism of the machine, which is now lowered. The upper mechanism is carried by a fiat horizontal'bar 26 forming a bridge which is slidable up and down. At the ends ofthe bar are heads 26 which slidably engage vertical guides 26 fixed to thelower are secured'to roe rot

outline of cams 12 is shown in Fig. 2 and is such that, during the movements already described, the'rollers 26 are on the higher portion of the cams 12 so that the bridge is raised, but at the completion of the move ments above described, the cams 12 permit the rollers 26 and the bridge to fall to its lower position, where it remains during the completion of the tying'of the bow by the bridge carrying mechanism.

The bar 26 has a pair of rearwardly extending journals 26 for the cam shaft 27. The cam shaft 27 carries at the left hand end a pinion 27 located immediately above the driving gear 5 so that when the upper mechanism is lowered, the pinion 27 will be engaged and driven by the gear 5. The pinion or gear 27 is about one-half the size of gear 6, so that during about half a revolution of the shaft 7, during which its cams cause no operation of their mechanism, the gear 27 and shaft27 will make a complete revolution. The shaft 27 carries cylindrical cams 28, 28, 28 and 28, the development of which is shown in Fig. 7 in their relative positions. x j

The hub of th gear 27*, or a collar or sleeve 27 fixed to the shaft 27 is recessed or indented at one point of its surface to receive a projection 27 (see Fig. 2) carried at the end of a leaf spring 27. This holds the shaft 2? always in the same angular position before and after a revolution of shaft 27, but its holding force is overcome by the driving force of gear 5 when gear 27 is driven thereby. This releasable holding device insures the proper teeth of gears 5 and 27 being engaged each time the upper mechanism is lowered, and prevents over-running of shaft 27 after it has made one revolution.

Extending upwardly and forwardly from the support 26 are arms 26 which carry in their front ends a horizontally slidable bar 29 carrying a few teeth at its central portion forming a rack. The arms 26 have upwardly extending toward each other arms 26 which support a vertical cylindricallyf shaped support 26 This support has fixed therein a downwardly extending shaft 29 the lower end of which is reduced in size and carries a pin 29. A gear 29 is carried by a sleeve 29 rotatable and slidable on shaft 29 and is pressed downwardly by the spiral spring 29 encircling the vertical shaft above the gear 29 and pressing against the support 26 at its upper end. The gear 29 is engaged by the teeth of the rack 29.

Fixed on the shaft 29 below the sleeve 29 is another sleeve 29. The upper end of this- V the contour of the opposed ces of these looking at Fig. 6, the rod will be permitted to gradually swing tow'ardits axis of rotation when the gear 29 is rotated by the rack moving from right to left. Thus this movement of the rack causes the hook 29 to be moved in a circular direction and :atthe same time downwardly and inwardly back of the shaft 29?. The disk or cam 29 is shaped to provide a stop at the rear and at the frontto preventthe rod 29 frombeing swung beyond certain limits. The'teeth of the rack 29 project beyond the front surface of the rack bar so that further movement of this barto the left is permitted after the teeth have passed out of engagement with the gear 29?. 4 a The movement of the rack 29. is controlled by. the cam 28, througha connecting lever.. A pin engages the groove or cam .28'at the rear end of arm 30 of the lever and is connected to the sleeve 3O pivoted on a support 3O extending upwardly from the plate 26. From theupper end of sleeve 30, a forwardly extending arm 30. of the lever is pivotally connectedby a pin and slot connection, to the left hand end of the rack bar 29. A downwardly projecting stud30 extends from the plate 26 opposite the stud 30 and a pin or shaft extends therethrough to which the sleeve 30 of the lever is fixed and at the lower end of which is fixed a. sleeve 30", which carries a rearwardly extending arm 30 It is evident that rota tion of the cam-28 will cause the lever 80. to be operated at the proper time to draw the rack 29 to the left and so impart the movement above described to thehook 29?, It will be seen that by the shape of the cam 28 in Fig. 7, that after the rack has been. drawn to the left so that it no longer engages the gear 29?, a. furthermovement or kick is given to control the movement of the arm 5O for the purpose to be later described. p

The cam 28 controls another lever 31, the arm 31 of which extends'under the cam 28 and has a pin engaging the same on its under side. This lever is pivoted in a boss 31 extending downwardly from the front edge of the bar 26. The lever has an arm 1 5 31 which extends in an inclined direction forwardly and downwardly. Pivoted on the front end of this arm 31 and on its under side is another lever having an arm 31 which Pr jects from the under side of arm 31 13c left and is designated as 33 tions is located a spring'31 the ends of which are attached to these projections, and the spring is under tension so that it 0011- stantly tends to draw the arm 31 under the arm31' in the position shown inFig. 6 and therefore it tends to hold the hook 31 in wardly. The arm 31 has a downwardly turned end 31% j The cam 28- is engaged on its under side by a pin carried on the inner end of an arm 32 of a lever which is pivotally mounted on a boss 32 extending downwardly from the plate 26. The front arm of this lever is designated as 32 and its front end when actuated by the cam is adapted to strike the projection 31 of the arm 31 and forceit inwardly against the tension of spring 31*. This action causes the hook 31 to'be thrown outwardly.

. The cam 28 is engaged on its under side by apin atthe inner end of an arm 33, which is pivotally mounted upon a boss 33 extending downwardly from the plate 26. The other arm of this lever extends to the v Its outer end is slotted to receive and actuate the pin 34: carried by an arm 34 of a bracket which is pivoted at the lower end of a boss 34 ex tending downwardly from the plate 26.

This pivoted bracket has a rearwardly extending arm 34, which pivotally supports at its rear end a lever having a rea-r'w'ardly extending arm 35'and a forwardly extending arm 35. The arm 35' has a downwardly extending pinr35 at its rear end and the arm 35" has a slot 35 at its front end. The

- pin 35" is engaged by the arm 3O to turn the lever 35, 35 at the proper moment. There is also a fixed pin 36 carried on the top'of the plate 36 which plate extends to the left from a support 36 extending downwardly from the plate 26; This, pin 36 is engaged at a suitable time by the arm 35'? to turn the same about its pivot.

' The above described pivoted bracket having arms 34 and 34 also carries an arm 34, which extends to the left and in its outer end has pivoted a little crank, the rear end 37 of which extends diagonally upward and through the slot35. The other part ofthis crank has an upward extension 37 and at right angles thereto a forward extension 37 at the end of which is a pin 37.

It should be noted that although the cams 28*,28 and 28 are engaged upon'their under side by the levers controlled thereby and the cam 28 on its upper side, yet for simplicity the development of the cams shown in Fig. 7 is shown relatively as 1f they were all engaged on the same side,so

that the sequence of movement can be more clearly followed from Fig. 7, beginning at the top of Fig. '7 and passing to the lower part. In reality, in the particular construction described, the development of cam 28 should in Fig. 7 be shifted 180 in relation to the other three cams. Y

The operation of the device as a whole will now be described. The gear 5 being driven from a suitable source causes the upper mechanism and bridge to be raised to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by the cams 12, and remain raised by these cams during the initial operation of the lower mechanism. The attendant inserts the package A on the base plate under the plate 1r The ribbon or cord 15 having been previously cut'by the cutting mechanism has left an end of the ribbon at the right of the machine. The ribbon drawer 18, 18 has been moved to the right and the arms 24, 25 have been moved toward each other to the positions shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, so that the arms 22 and-23 are criss-crossed over each other with the fingers at their ends open to receive the ribbon. I11 the righthand position of arm 18*, the fingers 21*, 21 have been caused to open about the new end of the ribbon as shown in Fig. 8 and as already described. Referring to the cams of Fig. 4, and starting at the top, it is evident that the cam 9 will first cause the pin 17 of the lever 17 tomove to the left and consequently cause the arm 18 to be thrown from the right to the left to assume the position shown in Fig. 3. In moving from the right, the fingers at its end first close about the ribbon and then draw it along to the left on a path determined by the contour of the inner edge of plate 20, as already will be seen that the ribbon is threaded between the fingers 22 and 22 ofthe arm 22 and then in moving farther along the edge of plate 20, the post 21 of the arm 18 and the ribbon is carried inwardly so as to pass back of the fingers 23 and23. In the latter part ofthe movement of the arm 18 and post 21, the contour of plate 20 causes the same to move toward the front of the machine to the position shown in Fig. 3 and thereby threads the ribbon in between the fingers 23, 23 all of the parts then having the position shown in Fig. 3.

The cam 13 on pivot 11 is so placed that it now permits the cutting plunger to be thrown upwardly to cut the ribbon as al ready described, the cutting plunger then being forced down where it remains until it is again called upon to cut the ribbon for thenext package.

Referring again to F ig. 4:, it will be seen that afterthe cam 18 has been thrown to the left, the levers 24 and 25 are next moved away from each other by the action of the cams causing the pedestals 22 and 23 to be moved along the inclined slots as already explained. In this movement the distant ends of the arms 22 and'23 are also raised and carry the ends of the ribbon upwardly over the package and over the plate 1,- the end of .arm 22 beingraised a little higher than the end ofthe arm 23 by the construction already described so as to permit the ends to pass each, other. This movement ties the first knot by reason of the initial criss-crossed or double crossed position of the 'arms 22, 23. Thus it will beseen that when the fingers 22 and 22 raise the righthand portion of the ribbon andpasses it to the left, it carries it over the arm 23 'as the latter moves to the right; and the fingers 23 and 23 will at the same time carry the left-handportion of the ribbon over the arm 22 as the latter moves to the left, bringing the parts and the ribbon to the position shown in Fig. 5'with the parts 15 and 15 of the ribbon extending from the knot upward diagonally and in an inclined direction.

After the above step, it will be seen by- Fig. 4 that the cams of the lower mechanism permit the parts to remain at rest for a considerable period during which the upper mechanism completes the tying of the bow. Thus as soon as the parts have assumed the position. of Fig. 5, thecams 12 permit the upper mechanism andbridge to drop and the pin 29 then impinges upon the center of the first knot of the ribbon and holds it against the plate 1 during the operation of the upper mechanism.

The bridge now having been lowered and the pinion 27 engaged by the gear 5, it will cause the cam shaft 27 to be turned one revolution and cause a sequence of movements of the parts as determined by the cams 28 to 28. Referring to Fig. 7' and starting at the top of the figure, it will be seen that the first action is caused by cam 28 which. turns the arm 31 from the right to the left about its pivot to the position shown in Fig.

6; andthe position of the parts shown in Fig. 6 is that which they occupy at the time the arm 31 has first been thrown to the left. Before the arm 31 was moved somewhat to the left from its initial position, the arm 31" was positioned inward suiiiciently so that when the bridge was lowered, the arm 31 and parts carriedithereby would clear the portion 15 of the ribbon. After the bridge is down, the cam 28 then causes, in the action just described, the arm 31 to be moved somewhat under the ribbon and the hook 31 to be locatedin the rear of and a little befrointhe position shown in Fig. 6, to the right. This causes the slotted end of arm 33 to move toward therear of the machine and thereby carries the pin 3-1 and the above described bracket in a counter-clockwise direction about their pivot. In this movement the finger 37 engages the portion 15 of the ribbon on its under side and forms a loop therein over the end 37 which is carried toward the shaft 29 in a raised position. In this movement theleft-hand end of the ribbon is consequently drawn by force'out of the fingers 22 and 22 causing this portion of the ribbon to hang in a vertical loop over the pin 37? near theshaft 29 and to the rear of the same in the positionshown in Fig. 10. These parts then momentarily remain in this position as shown by the contour of the cam 28. i

The cam 28 next acts to control the hook 29% Thus it will be seen fromFig. 7 "that the arm 30 is first thrown to the right a certain distance and that amount of movement is sur'ficient to, draw the rack 29 tothe left, causing the pinion 29 to be rotated counterclockwise about half a revolution. the hook 29 starts to move, it swings under the upwardly extending part 15 of the ribbon, catching the same in a loop and drawing it by friction out' from between the fingers 23 and 23 of the arm'23. By reason of the cam shaped surfaces of the abutting sleeves 29 and 29 and by reason of the shape of the disk 29', the hook 29 carries its loop of the ribbon in a curved path rear wardly and downwardly around the back of the vertically upward extending loop 15, which latter is being held in such vertical.

position near the shaft by the 311137. In carrying the loop of the portion '15" of the ribbon down and around the vertically extending loop, the hook 29 carries its loop of the ribbon to and on to the hook 31 which has already been placed in position to receive it by the action already described.

The parts then have the position shown in Fig. 10 and it will be noted that the arm 31 when located inwardly under the portion 15 of the ribbon, is near the vertical shaft 29 and beyond it; and when the pin 37 tion, is caused by the cam 28 moving'the arm 31 to the left and thus causes the hook 31, which now has one loop of the ribbon, to be drawn toward the front of the machine to assume the position in which it is shown in- Fig. 11. Thus one loop of the ribbon is drawn out in a diagonal direction to form part'of the bow as shown in Fig. 11. While this latter movement isitaking place, the cam 28 first causes the arm 30 to be moved a further amount to the right by the action of the right-hand portion of the groove in cam 28; and this further movement causes the arm 30 to be moved from the positionshown in Fig. 10 to the position shown in Fig. 11. In this movement the arm 30 strikes against the rear of pin 35", which ro tates the arms 35 and 35 about their pivot on the end of arm 34 and. thuscauses the slot in the end of arm 35 to turn the arm 37of the bell crank lever from the position shown in Fig. 10 over to the position shown in Fig. 11. This movement causes the finger 37 whichhas been holding oneloop of the ribbon vertically upward to be turned then to the rear laying out its loop of the bow' in the horizontal position shown in Fig. 11. These actions complete the forming of the bow. I

7 During the further revolution of the cam shaft 27,.and while the arm 31 and hook 31 are normally in the position shown in Fig. 11, the cam 28 causes a movement of the arm 32 to the right about its pivot and so causes the arm 32 to be moved to the left and strike against the projection 31 ofthe arm 31. This forces the arm 31 to the left about its pivot against the tension of spring '31 and thereby throws the hook 31 out from its loop of the ribbon, the spring 31 afterward causing it to be returned to its normal position with relation to the arm 31.

It will be seen from further considering 'Fig. 7 that the parts are returned to their starting positions. Thus the cam 28 causes the lever 30,- 30 to be returned to the position shown in Fig. 6, the rack bar 29 operating the gear 29 to cause the hook 29? to be turned and raised. to its initial position. Likewise the cam 28 causes its lever to be returned to the position shown in Fig. 6; and the cam 28* causes its lever to be moved from the position shown in Fig. 11 to place the hook 31. inwardly at its extreme inner position. Likewise the cam 28 causes the lever arm 33 to'be moved to the left from the position 'shownin Figs. 10 and 11 to that shown in Fig. 6. This causes the slot ted end of the arm 33 to be moved forwardly from the position shown in Figs. 10 and 11 and so cause the aforementioned bracket to be turned clockwise about its pivot, which causes the pin 37 to be withturn, the arm 37 of the crankso. as to raise the pin 37 to its upright. position.

The cam shaft 27 has now made a complete revolution, at the completion of which the cams 12 on the shaft 11 raise the upper mechanismfrom the base portion of the machine to again assume the position shown in Figs. 1 and2. The attendant does of course remove the package A from the machine as soon as the tying of the bow is completed and immediately inserts another package,

so that by the time the arms 22 and 23 start to operateagain to wrap the package, the package has already been placed in position over the new length of ribbon whichhas been'drawn under the package and cut off as already described. It is evident that the above described cycle of operations is again passed through by continued operation of the machine giving the quick, eficient and neat tying of a ribbon in a bow around packages 1n succession.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that various adjustments andmodifica tions of the parts and their particular shape may be readily made in'the machine in adapting it to operate upon various types and sizes of packages and with various forms and widths of ribbons or cords,

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the method of operation and wrap ping'and tying the bow is reduced to the simplest character of steps and in the above described preferred-form of myinvention, the ribbon or cord is drawn by two bars double crossed with relation to each other, over the package so as to produce the first knot by the simple step of drawing the ends of the ribbon over the package. The ends of the ribbon are then held out in proper po-" sition to be manipulated while the first knot of the bow is held in .the fixed position. One loop of the ribbon is then caused to be held vertically near the first'knot and the other loop drawn around it and between it and the knot and under a portion'of the ribbon extending from the knot so that when the two loops are drawn, the bow is tied and the loops and theends of the ribbon then placed in the proper relation to each other.

- When the machine is used for wrapping and tying bow knots upon packages of envelops, the envelops are somewhat compressed by the attendant in setting them under the plate 1 When the bow is tied about the envelops, the same length of ribbon and of its parts is uniformly made by the attendant, the package expanding shghtly so as to place a certain amount of tension on the ribbon. Thus when envelops are made up in packages say of twelve for the machine, each package after wrapping will have the same thickness, even though the stock from which envelops are made is difiere'nt. Thus the envelop packages are always made up of proper and uniform thickness to exactly occupy the 7 space provided for them in the boxes in which they are afterward packed.

Although I have described a preferred method and machine embodying my invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope thereof; my in vention is also applicable to various uses and may be'applied to wrapping and tying articles of various shapes, sizes and types.

7 here I have used the term ribbon in the claims, it will be understood that the term is there used in a sense broad enough to include not only a fiat ribbon but a cord of ribbon of any shape suitable for wrapping and tying articles or packages.

I claim I a 1. A machine for tying packages with a ribbon comprising double crossed arms for drawing the ribbon over the package, and means for moving said arms to form a knot in the ribbon. I i L 2. A; machine for tying-packages with a ribbon comprising a pair of devices movable away from each other for drawing a ribbon over the package and for looping the same in a knot, and means for movingsaid de-' vices. p

3. In a machine fortying packages with a ribbon, an arm extending over the package for grasping the ribbon on the opposite side,

a second arm extending over the package in the opposite direction for grasping the ribbon on the other side thereof, said arms pass ing over and under each other, and means for moving said arms to draw the ribbon around the package and form a knot.

at. In a machine for tying packages with a ribbon, abase, an arm adapted to extend over the package and receive one end portion of the ribbon, a second arm adapted to ex tend over the package and receive the other end portion of the ribbon, said arms crossing over and under each other, and means for causing said arms to be moved along said base to draw the ribbon over the package and form a knot.

5. In a machine for tying packages with a ribbon, an arm extending over the package to receive an end portion of the ribbon at one side of thepackage, a second arm extending over the package to receive an end portion of the ribbon at the other side of the package, said arms passing over, and under each other, and means for drawing said arms apart and for also raising said arms to forming one loop of the bow, and means for forming another loop of the bow and carrying it around the first loop. y

7. In a bow tying machine, means for forming and holding one loop of the bow in an upright direction from the knot, and means for forming another loop of the bow and carrying it around said first loop.

8. In a bow tying machine, means for forming and: holding one loop ofthe bow in an upright direction from the knot, and

means for forming another'loop of the bow and carrying it around said first loop and for drawing the second loop through a turn of the ribbon. V i

9. In a bow tying machine, means for holding the first knot in a fixed position, and means for forming and tying the bow while the first knot is so held. I

10. In a bow tying machine, means for holding the first knot in position, means for forming and holding one loop of the bow in an upright position from said knot, and means for forming another loop of the bow and passing it around the first loop and between the loop and said holding means and for drawingthe second loop to form the b 11. In a bow tying machine, an upright device for. holding the first knot in a fixed position, means for formingjand holding one loop in an upright position, means for forming another loop and passing the same around the first loop and between the first loop and said device and for drawing the second loop to formthe bow. g

12, In a bow tying machine, a device for tying the firstknotand holding the end portions incertain positions, means for engaging one end portion to form one loop, means for engaging the other end portion to form a second loop and for passing same around the first'loop and forming the bow.

13. Ina bow tying machine, a device for.

forming the first knot, an element for holding said knot in a fixedposition, and means for forming two loops of the bow and passing one of said loops around the other.

14:. In a wrapping and tying machine, means for drawing a ribbon under the package, means for cutting off a length of ribbon, means for drawing the end portions of the ribbon around the package and forming a first knot, and means for engaging the end portions of the ribbon and for forming loops therein and tying the bow.

15. In a wrapping and tying machine,

means for drawing a ribbon under the package, means for cutting off a length of ribbon, means for drawing the end portions of the ribbon around the package and forming a first knot, mean for, engaging the end portions of the ribbon and for forming loops therein and tying the bow, and means for '16. In a wrapping and tying machine,

means for drawing a length of the ribbon and for cutting off said length, means for wrapping the ribbon around the package and forming the first knot, an element for holding said knot in a fixed position, means for forming one loop of a bow, means for forming another loop and passing the same around the first loop and between the first loop and said element and for drawing the second loop to form the bow.

17. In a wrapping and tying machine, means for carrying 'a ribbon around the package and forming a knot with the end portions extending diagonally from said knot, a device for engaging one end portion for forming a loop, another device for engaging the other end'portion for forming a second loop, and means for causing the loops to be positioned to form a bow.

.18. In a wrapping and tying machine, a lower mechanism for wrappinga ribbon around the package and forming the first knot, andan upper mechanism movable as a whole for forming the bow.

19. In a wrapping and tying machine,

' a lower mechanism for drawing a length of ribbon, for cuttingofi a length of ribbon and for wrapping same around the package to form a first knot, and an upper'mechanism movable as a whole toward and away from the lower mechanism for forming the bow. z

20. In a wrapping and tying machine, a lower mechanism for wrapping the pack age and forming the first knot, another mechanism movable toand from said lower mechanism-for forming a bow, said upper mechanism being driven and operated by the lower mechanism. 7

21. In a wrapping and tying machine, a lower mechanism for wrapping a ribbon around the package "and forming the first knot, and for holding the end portions of. the ribbon in inclined positions extending fromsaid knot, and a mechanism movable to cutting oil a length of ribbon, means comprising a pair of movable elements for drawing the ribbon around the package and forming a 1;n@1;,and a plurality of cams for controlling the operation of the parts.

23; In a wrapping. and tying machine, a mechanism for wrapping a ribbon around the package and forming the first knot, another mechanism movable to and from the first mechanism for forming, a bow, and a plurality of inter-related cams for controlling the sequence of operations of said mechanisms- 1 device for drawing a ribbon, a device for 24:. The method of wrapping and tying a package consisting in positioning a ribbon under the package, grasping the end portions thereof in a double crossed relationship and drawing said end portions toward and past each other around the package.

25'. The method of wrappingand tying a package consisting in positioning a ribbon under the package, grasping the end portionsthereof in a double crossed'relationship and drawing said end portions toward and past each other around the package to form the first knot, holding said knot in fixed position, forming a loop in one end portion, forming a loop in the other'end portion, and positioning said loops to form a bow.

26. The method of wrapping and tying a packageconsisting in positioning a ribbon under the package, drawing-the end portions of the ribbon around the package and forming the first knot, holding said knot in a fixed position, forming a loop in one end portion and extending inan upright position from said knot, forming a loop in the other end portion and passing the same around the first loop and drawing the sec-.

ond looptoform a bow. 

